Microsoft Azure (Microsoft) Case Studies 3M Manufacturing Plant Leverages Azure SQL Edge for Efficiency and Cost Savings

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	3M Manufacturing Plant Leverages Azure SQL Edge for Efficiency and Cost Savings Microsoft Azure (Microsoft)

3M Manufacturing Plant Leverages Azure SQL Edge for Efficiency and Cost Savings

Microsoft Azure (Microsoft)

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries	Electronics Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Maintenance
Use Cases	Manufacturing System Automation Predictive Maintenance
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Data Science Services
Challenge	3M, a multinational conglomerate corporation, produces over 60,000 products across various business groups. At one of its US manufacturing plants, the 3M Corporate Research Lab and the local 3M Manufacturing team identified an opportunity to predict anomalies and use these insights to reduce manufacturing downtime. The challenge was to integrate data streams from two production lines, correlate them, and then run analytics and machine learning locally. However, the data from the two systems arrived at different times, and the plant’s network connectivity was limited. The team needed a solution that would provide the necessary performance, management, and security. Read More
About Customer	3M is a multinational conglomerate corporation known for its wide range of products, from office supplies like Scotch tape and Post-it notes to healthcare equipment like N95 respirators. The company categorizes its more than 60,000 products into four diverse business groups: safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, healthcare, and consumer. Founded in 1902 as a Minnesota-based mining company, 3M has evolved into a Fortune 500 company that employs 96,000 employees in 87 countries. The company is known for its commitment to innovation and efficiency in its manufacturing processes. Read More
Solution	The team proposed building a custom module with Microsoft Azure SQL Edge deployed through Microsoft Azure IoT Edge. This solution allowed them to process and analyze big data locally, at the edge. They developed an algorithm that predicted problems on the manufacturing line hours before they appeared. The module, which sat on their Azure IoT Edge device, was cloud trained and deployed to Azure SQL Edge, where the manufacturing line data resided. It operated seamlessly to create predictions. By correlating and analyzing two data streams, they were able to apply analytics and machine learning to the data. Using Azure SQL Edge, the team created a solution to sync data from there to the cloud, which was fault-tolerant under almost any network condition. This solution also resolved the plant’s problem of limited network capacity. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Applicable Industries

Electronics

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Maintenance

Use Cases

Manufacturing System Automation

Predictive Maintenance

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Data Science Services

Challenge

3M, a multinational conglomerate corporation, produces over 60,000 products across various business groups. At one of its US manufacturing plants, the 3M Corporate Research Lab and the local 3M Manufacturing team identified an opportunity to predict anomalies and use these insights to reduce manufacturing downtime. The challenge was to integrate data streams from two production lines, correlate them, and then run analytics and machine learning locally. However, the data from the two systems arrived at different times, and the plant’s network connectivity was limited. The team needed a solution that would provide the necessary performance, management, and security.

About Customer

3M is a multinational conglomerate corporation known for its wide range of products, from office supplies like Scotch tape and Post-it notes to healthcare equipment like N95 respirators. The company categorizes its more than 60,000 products into four diverse business groups: safety and industrial, transportation and electronics, healthcare, and consumer. Founded in 1902 as a Minnesota-based mining company, 3M has evolved into a Fortune 500 company that employs 96,000 employees in 87 countries. The company is known for its commitment to innovation and efficiency in its manufacturing processes.

Solution

The team proposed building a custom module with Microsoft Azure SQL Edge deployed through Microsoft Azure IoT Edge. This solution allowed them to process and analyze big data locally, at the edge. They developed an algorithm that predicted problems on the manufacturing line hours before they appeared. The module, which sat on their Azure IoT Edge device, was cloud trained and deployed to Azure SQL Edge, where the manufacturing line data resided. It operated seamlessly to create predictions. By correlating and analyzing two data streams, they were able to apply analytics and machine learning to the data. Using Azure SQL Edge, the team created a solution to sync data from there to the cloud, which was fault-tolerant under almost any network condition. This solution also resolved the plant’s problem of limited network capacity.

Impact #1	The implementation of Azure SQL Edge and IoT Edge has been a breakthrough for the local manufacturing team. The solution allowed for data processing at the edge, which increased efficiency by enabling operations even when the plant was offline. The solution also reduced latency, saving 3M time. The use of Azure SQL Edge made processes easier and faster due to its easy interoperability. The consistent SQL codebase eliminated the need for writing more code and coordinating between each module of the code. This resulted in less custom monitoring, amendments, and support. The solution is also scalable and can be easily deployed to other manufacturing sites, making it a critical investment for 3M's manufacturing operations.

Impact #1

The implementation of Azure SQL Edge and IoT Edge has been a breakthrough for the local manufacturing team. The solution allowed for data processing at the edge, which increased efficiency by enabling operations even when the plant was offline. The solution also reduced latency, saving 3M time. The use of Azure SQL Edge made processes easier and faster due to its easy interoperability. The consistent SQL codebase eliminated the need for writing more code and coordinating between each module of the code. This resulted in less custom monitoring, amendments, and support. The solution is also scalable and can be easily deployed to other manufacturing sites, making it a critical investment for 3M's manufacturing operations.

Benefit #1	Data transfer from the plant to Azure reduced from weeks to just minutes.
Benefit #2	Only one engineer was needed to add Azure SQL Edge into the company’s current stack business processes, taking an average of six hours.
Benefit #3	Significant improvements and cost savings are anticipated due to more efficient processes at the edge.

Benefit #1

Data transfer from the plant to Azure reduced from weeks to just minutes.

Benefit #2

Only one engineer was needed to add Azure SQL Edge into the company’s current stack business processes, taking an average of six hours.

Benefit #3

Significant improvements and cost savings are anticipated due to more efficient processes at the edge.

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Overview

3M Manufacturing Plant Leverages Azure SQL Edge for Efficiency and Cost Savings

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit